Subscribe

The independent news source for the University of Minnesota campus, now only a click away. Subscribe to the Minnesota Daily's e-newsletter for full sports coverage, updates from the newsroom, and a pick of the week's top features.

Minnesota Daily Newsletter

Donate to the Minnesota Daily!

The Minnesota Daily has been training student journalists and serving the University of Minnesota community since 1900. With your help, we will continue to produce award-winning journalism and provide excellent training for students in all areas of news production. We collect donations through GiveMN; please click below and donate today!

OPINION

Last week, The New York Times broke news of a memo from the Department of Health and Human Services. In the memo, the department argued in favor of a unilateral definition of gender determined “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable.” The department furthered in the memo that individuals would be defined as strictly male or female, gender would be determined by “immutable biological traits” (i.e., genitalia and other sex characteristics), and gender was unchangeable unless proven otherwise by genetic evidence.

Nearly one year ago, the University of Minnesota's Board of Regents passed a proposal that increased non-resident tuition by 15 percent. This proposal was introduced in an effort to match University tuition rates to rates throughout the rest of the Big Ten.

"Every business tries to stay here as long as possible," said Jason Davis, co-owner of Dinkytown Optical, a business that has been operating in its namesake neighborhood for 45 years. The shop just finished a stint in the half-timbered, decaying building at 1300 SE. 4th St. known for its Bob Dylan mural. In July, Dinkytown Optical and four other long-time businesses had to vacate the building; many of their signs still hang above the empty storefronts.

When the going gets tough — and it sure is, for every single contender in the upcoming midterms — we can sometimes make snap judgments, or even heavily meditated ones, that in retrospect were wrong. Sometimes we mean one thing, but accidentally and loudly say something else.

This past week, I undertook what was probably the most ridiculous project of my burgeoning journalism career. After having my interest piqued by the Lime and Bird scooters littered across campus, I rode exclusively electric scooters to and from campus for an entire week.

This column is the reminder you’ve been waiting for – cultural appropriation isn’t OK, not even on Halloween. The spooky season is not and never was an excuse to be ignorant. Cultural appropriation was never "in," and offending cultures you aren’t part of and don’t understand is neither trendy nor acceptable.

The North American Interfraternity Council (NIC) shocked fraternities nationwide when it was announced in August that chapters had one year to ban hard alcohol. However, the University of Minnesota's Interfraternity Council (IFC) decided to jump-start the process, with the ban starting on Sept. 31. While the new policy is working toward solving the many issues alcohol brings, it's only the first step.

On Oct. 8, the world was exposed to staggering statistics about the health and longevity of our Earth, which included learning that carbon dioxide emissions would need to be nearly cut in half by the year 2030.

Developers have had their eyes on Dinkytown for a long time. One Minnesota Daily article from 2013 reported that "more than half of Dinkytown property owners surveyed by the Minnesota Daily have been approached by a developer interested in their land."A look at Google's Street View shows these developers have been successful.

The University of Minnesota College Republican’s bridge panel was vandalized this past Friday night or Saturday morning for the third year in a row. As a seasoned paint the bridge veteran and senior at the University, I am exactly the opposite of surprised. In the past three years — from basically the 2016 elections that made President Donald Trump the head of state onward — UMNCR has filled its panels with generally incendiary rhetoric.

The return of fall means the return of many things, like colorful leaves, cooler temperatures and, everyone’s favorite, football games. However, it also means the return of flu season. This flu season, we urge every person to get their flu vaccination.

It was almost serendipitous that I stumbled upon the Senior Citizen Education Program. There it was in an article about great education benefits for us older people. It doesn’t take much to explain SCEP: any Minnesota resident over the age of 62 can audit a class at the University of Minnesota for free or take classes for credit at a ridiculously low tuition rate.

Few would argue the need for a solution to end the drug abuse and addiction that ravage our communities. But as lawmakers consider necessary legislative action, they must not forget their constituents with legitimate pain management needs. In fact, many of us gathered in September for the “Don’t Punish Pain” rally in St. Paul to voice our concern over legislation and regulations that target legal opioid medications.

Students on campus have not been silent about the recent nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Throughout the confirmation process, people protested against the nomination outside of Coffman Union, as well as protested outside of Northrop Auditorium. While it's important for students to use their voices to stand up for what they believe in, we cannot forget the power the student population has on decisions like these in the voting booth.

The Oct. 8 article, "West Bank liaisons could improve security and livability of neighborhood," sets forth some misconceptions. Establishment of an "improvement district" would not require "support from a majority of neighborhood businesses," but approval of at least 65 percent of the commercial property ownership. Several years ago, such an attempt was crushed by overwhelming opposition from the West Bank's property owners.

Climate scientists’ prognosis for the future is so daunting and demoralizing that it takes uncommon strength to confront the problem head-on. Another saddening outcome is that most people, especially the ones in political and industrial power with the ability to help most, reject this problem altogether and pretend that it’s all drivel anyway. Of all responses to a terrifying problem, that is probably the most dangerous.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to write this column. What would be the point of screaming into the partisan political void of heated debates, outright denials and tidal wave of opinions? There isn’t one, really. I try to write things that are productive, when I have something new or different to say. I thought I’d be muffled by the onslaught of media coverage and angry outcries.